Chris Paul Trade: The Politics Surrounding Los Angeles and an All-Star Guard

It all started with the Los Angeles Lakers' search for a point guard. And not just any point guard, a young, four-time All-Star, point guard—Chris Paul. 

There had been much hype about who the Lakers would seek in the offseason after an embarrassing sweep by the soon-to-be NBA-champion Dallas Mavericks. 

Dwight Howard and Paul were the first to be mentioned, and then arose the question of which Lakers would depart in exchange for these superstars. 

And then on December 8th, it happened. "Breaking News!" flashing all over the news stations. "Lakers have reached an agreement to acquire Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets."

A tingling jolt of joy was felt throughout Los Angeles, something that flushed away the bad memories of disappointment and embarrassment in last year's playoffs. 

And then it was gone. That jolt of joy became a momentary confusion and then morphed quickly into a fuming anger. "Chris Paul trade to Lakers is nixed by David Stern."

Then a day later, a reserved sense of hope calmly floated back into Los Angeles. "Lakers resubmit trade for Chris Paul." If it was being resubmitted it must have been revised in some kind of way that would render it to be accepted, right?

Oh no, oh no, wrong. The second deal to send Paul to Los Angeles is then rejected. 

And the unfulfilled hopes of Lakers fans wasn't the worst part. Now that the front office's plans to trade Lakers stars had been revealed, the players involved in the failed trade now were caught in a limbo. 

Pau Gasol stuck in there as a real man should, but Lamar Odom took offense to the organization's plans to trade him. He expressed his uncertainty on his Twitter feed, and eventually ended up requesting a trade because he was offended and hurt. 

So bye-bye to the Paul that never was and bye-bye to the Sixth Man of the Year, off to Dallas you go. 

But the story does not end with these misfortunes. It gets worse. "Los Angeles Clippers reach deal with Chris Paul." David Stern allows a deal with Clippers but not the Lakers? 

Let's break this all down:

Lakers Rejected Proposal-- LAKERS: Chris Paul;  HORNETS: Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Lamar Odom, Goran Dragic, one 2012 first-round draft pick;  ROCKETS: Pau Gasol

Clippers Accepted Proposal--CLIPPERS: Chris Paul, two 2015 second-round draft picks; HORNETS: Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu, one 2012 first-round draft pick

So why would the Clippers' proposal be accepted and the Lakers' rejected?

The Lakers' deal, just as the Clippers' deal, would have resulted in Paul being sent out of New Orleans and the Hornets would have gotten three quality players who some might argue are better than those that the Hornets got in their trade with the Clippers. 

It makes no sense, right? All this mayhem in Los Angeles.

Let's break it down into tinier pieces now:

David Stern vetoed the Lakers' trade on the following premises:

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"Since the NBA purchased the New Orleans Hornets, final responsibility for significant management decisions lies with the commissioner's office in consultation with team chairman Jac Sperling.  All decisions are made on the basis of what is in the best interests of the Hornets.  In the case of the trade proposal that was made to the Hornets for Chris Paul, we decided, free from the influence of other NBA owners, that the team was better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade.”

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If that was truly the case, that the team was better off with Chris Paul on the Hornets after the proposed Laker deal, then why isn't is the same after the Clippers' proposal?

It's essentially the same deal, and arguably a worse deal for the Hornets than the Lakers' proposal. Let's be honest now, this isn't about fair deals. David Stern can cover it up will all the gloss that he wants, but this is about spreading the talent in the NBA. 

And who wouldn't be for spreading talent and evening out the competition in the NBA? It's not a bad idea, but is only effective when enacted on its own terms. A sort of laissez-faire approach to distributing talent. 

Manipulating the spread of talent in the league will never last in this country. It may have gotten Paul on the Clippers, but it's not good for the league. It gives the league a rigged feeling, one that always has a sour taste to it in sports. 

Shortly after the completion of the deal with the Clippers, Stern said:

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 "I knew that we were doing the best thing for New Orleans. That was my job. The future of the Hornets is looking better today than it ever has before."

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So that's what it was all about? The best thing for New Orleans? It sounds like a conflict of interest coming from the commissioner of the NBA. 

Some believe that the Lakers' trade was not allowed because the Lakers would have still been left with Andrew Bynum, who they could have used to trade for Dwight Howard. If that's the problem, then why have teams like the Knicks and the Heat been able to collude and create "Big Threes?"

The high-pitched whine from small-market owners like Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert who urged Stern to disallow the trade sounds like children screaming "No Fair!" on a school playground.

Gilbert said in an email to David Stern:  

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"It would be a travesty to allow the Lakers to acquire Chris Paul...Over the next three seasons this deal would save the Lakers approximately $20 million in salaries and approximately $21 million in luxury taxes...I cannot remember ever seeing a trade where a team got by far the best player in the trade and saved over $40 million in the process"

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It's understandable that small-market teams don't want to see All-Star players like Chris Paul go to big-market teams like the Lakers; however, if a fair deal is presented, it can't be rejected or tampered with by the commissioner just because of a team's monetary worth. 

In fact, it almost seems prejudicial or discriminatory. 

However, let's not underplay how good this is for the Clippers, who have been just recently put back on the map by Blake Griffin. The Clippers are now a legitimate threat to win championships with Griffin and Paul together. So yes, this is good for the league in some respects. 

Nevertheless, Lakers fans will enter the STAPLES Center with a very sour taste in their mouth.

Something like the residue of a hornet's venom. 

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